Starbucks Suddenly Realizes Android Exists, Creates Coffee-Buying App

We can't help but serve up a bit of cynicism with this Chai latte. Starbucks has released an app for Android, and it basically does what the app for the iPhone did. Nothing more, nothing less.

How is this news? Well, I guess it's not, unless you've never played around with the iPhone app. The Android app allows you to pay with your phone (if you've got money on your Stabucks card), check your balance and track your stars in the rewards program. This is a helpful app if you'd like to get some mileage out of your heavy caffeine intake and speed through check-out.

The app doesn't use NFC. Instead, tapping a drink presents a barcode that can be scanned at the counter.

So, okay...you're a smart one, Starbucks. This app will probably do verryy well. But we're biased. We can't help it! We know hating Starbucks has become almost a national past time, but we've gotta put our two cents in: your coffee stinks.

Disagree? Break out the nunchucks and comment below. I'm ready for you. :)

Steven Blum has written more than 2,000 blog posts as a founding member of AndroidPIT's English editorial team. A graduate of the University of Washington, Steven Blum also studied Journalism at George Washington University in Washington D.C. for two years. Since then, his writing has appeared in The Stranger, The Seattle P-I, Blackbook Magazine and Venture Villlage. He loves the HTC One and hopes the company behind it still exists in a few years.

2 comments

«Suddenly Realizes Android Exists» — that is a little unfair. I am currently porting an iPhone app to Android and it is like writing the App new new from scratch.

iPhone uses Objective C and Android Java and the only classes which look remotely similar are the database entities (implemented as POJO for those in the know which makes it a microscopic fraction of the over all application.)

I would say that from realizing that Android exist to the finished App it takes 6 month at least. And that is anything but “suddenly“.